Car-heater



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(NoModeL) W. L. HORNE.

OAR HEATER.

Patented Oct. 25; 1887.

N. PETERS. Phnloiilhngnphen Waihinglon. D. O.

'(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. 'L HORNE.

0A5 HEATER. No. 372,071. Patented Oct. 25, 188-7.

N, PETERS. Pholo-Lilhogruphar. Wnshinglon. D. C.

UNITE STATES PATENT CEEicE.

WILLIAM L. HORNE, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

CAR-HEATER.

, SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 372,071, datedOctober 25, 1887.

Application filed February 12, 1887. Serial No. 227,402. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. HORNE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCar-Heaters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as willenable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the class of devices known as car-heaters, andits object is to produce a hot-water heater without fire in the car,(which in case of accident becomes a source of danger to thepassengers,) and which will 1 yet be. capable of maintaining therequisite pleting the circuit.

degree of heat for a considerable period when detached from the train.

In the accompanying drawingsI have shown one form of my invention, andhave fully; set said invention forth in the following specification andclaims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of one carand a part of another forming part of a train provided with one form ofmy heating device. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of one of said cars.Fig. 3 is a .vertical section of a part of such car with thewater-reservoir in section. Fig. 4 is an isometric view of aconstruction in which two tanks or reservoirs are employed in a singlecar. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of one form of balanced valve usedin pipes A B.

A is a water-conducting pipe connected to some suitable or preferredform of water-heater forward of the passenger-cars and extending backunder all of the cars of the train.

13 is the rcturn-Water-conducting pipe com- This pipe is connected withthe water-heater or with the water-tank of the tender, as may bepreferred. WVithin each car is a large water tank or reservoir,G;connected with pipe A by a short pipe, 0, which extends a short distanceup into the tank C, and is provided at or near its upper end with avalve-seat. This short connectingpipe between pipe A and the tank C isprovided with a valve or cook, 0'. A valve, 0, is fitted to thevalve-seat near the upper end of the pipe 0, and a rod attached theretoextends upward for a distance Within the tank,

with a handle for operating it extending without the tank. This rod ismade of such materials as to be readily affected by heat, so that itexpands as it is heated, and when a certain degree of heat is reached itautomatically closes valve 0. The rod is also provided by means ofadjustment for different degrees of heat.

To the upper part of the tank or reservoir C is connected a pipe, D,which extends therefrom along the side or sides of the car, with areturn branch, D, in close proximity to the seats, and may have bendstherein extending under the seats of the car, as shown in dotted linesin Fig. 4.. The return-pipe D is connected with the return-pipe B of thesystem by pipe d,an d by pipe (1 with the reservoir or tank 0. In thispipeD, near the point at which it is connected to the pipe B, I proposeto insert a valve-box or enlarged section of pipe, E, with a Valve-seatbetween the connections of pipes d and d therewith. In this enlargedsection of pipe I place a valve with an operating-rod of thermostaticproperties, so that on the water circulating through the pipes D and Dbecoming heated to a certain point the connection of the system within asingle car shall be cutoff fromthe general system and only such acirculation be permitted as will naturally result from the giving oif ofheat from the radiatingpipes. The pipe D for a portion of its length isparallel,or nearly s0,with and but a short distance from the tank orreservoir C. This portion of such pipe.is connected with the reservoir Cby one or more pipes, ff. The downwardly-extending portion of pipe D maybe located at the end of the car and the pipes ff may extend the wholelength of the car, if preferred.

The upper end of the tank is provided with pipe f, provided with a cock,through which air may be admitted or allowed to escape. The pipes A Aand B B of the different cars are connected by flexible connections ofany preferred construction. They are also provided at a and b withstop-cocks, and at a and b with balanced valves. These valves, when theheater is not in use, are closed, but are provided with means wherebythey may be opened when desired, as shown in Fig. 5. In heating systemsof this character the heater is a boiler,in which a considerablepressure is maintained in order to force the hot water through thepipes, and the object ofthese balanced valves is to prevent an excess ofpressure in such pipes, the construction of these devices being suchthat when the pressure in the pipes rises above a certain amount thevalve closes and remains closed until the pressure is removed.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a car with but one tank or reservoir and but oneseries of radiating-pipes. In Fig. 4 I show a form of heater fora car inwhich two tanks or reservoirs are employed. The pipes D and Dam both onone side of the car and the arrangement slightly changed. Both heatersreceive heated water from pipe A and discharge into pipe B.

In practice the tanks and radiating-pipes in each car may be filledeither from a stationary boilerat the startiug-station or after thetrain is made up from the heater on the train. While this filling takesplace the cock in the pipef is opened and the air allowed to escape.When brought together in a train, with the pipe A furnishing thehot-water supply for the system, the balanced cock a on the ear nearestthe boiler or water-heater and cock I) on the last car included in thesystem are put in operative position, cock a on the last car closed, andall the other cocks in pipes A and B opened. Hot water is thusbroughtinto each car from the water-heater through pipe A, and afterpassing through the radiating-pipes and giving off its heat isdischarged through pi pe B.

In case the car is detached from the train, the cooks a and b are put inoperative position and cocks a and I) closed. The couplings with theother cars are then detached. The tank and pipes being filled withheated water, the required temperature within the car will be maintaineda considerable period. There will be a certain amount of circulation inthe pipes consequent on the cooling by radiation. This circulation maybe accelerated by opening cock I), the cock in pipe f, and turning cockin pipe (2 so that asmall amount of water maybe discharged therethrough.The colder water settling to the lowest part of the system within thecar, it is slowly drawn off through pipe (2 and the radiating pipesfilled with the more highly heated water from tank 0. Vhile this isbeing done the cocks in pipesf and f are opened to facilitate thetransfer of hot water to the radiating-pipes. It may sometimes bepreferred to draw the cooler water from pipe A, which can be done byarranging cocks a and the cock in the pipe 0 so as to accomplish this.

I may prefer in some instances, when a car is side-tracked, instead ofdrawing off the cold water, to place a large lamp or other form ofheater under the tank, as shown in Fig. 3. To enable this to be done inthe most unobjectionable manner, I prefer to inclose the space beneaththe tank and provide a door opening into the same from the outside ofthe car.

In case the car should be reversed and pipe B of one or more carsbrought into such position as to become a part of the hot-watersupplyconduit, the operation of the device will be equally effective, the flowof the heated water being, however, in the opposite direction. In suchcase, if the car is in the middle of a train, all the valves in thepipes A and B will be opened. It the ear is the last of a train,valve awill be put in operative position and valve 1) closed, and if the car isthe first in the train the valve b is put in operative position and theothers in said pipes opened.

The tanks 0 may be made of any preferred form and of such size as may befound to be most effective. They are constructed of moderately-heavyplate, so as to resist all pressure and render them secure from breakagein case of accident. The connecting-pipes in case of accident will notbe easily broken, and even if ruptured but little water will escapetherefrom, as the passage of water from the system would produce avacuum in the pipe or tank.

I do not limitmyself to any particular heating device or any particularconnection for the return-pipe. The heated water may be taken from theboiler of the locomative or from any source which will furnish therequired amount of heated water and force to pass it through the pipesof the system. The water from the return-pipe may be returned to theboiler by an injector, or to the tank on the tender by the same or othermeans.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A car-heater consisting of the combination, with pipes forming partof the supply and return pipes of a hot-water-circulating system, of ahot-water reservoir and a radiating-circuit interposed between saidpipes, the said radiating-circuit being connected at both ends to saidreservoir, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with pipes forming part of a hot-water-circulatingsystem, of a hotwater reservoir connected with one of said pipes and aradiating-circuit having one end connected with said reservoir and itsother end connected with the other pipe and also with said reservoir,substantially as described.

3. A car-heater consisting of the combination, with pipes forming partof a hotwater-cireulating system, of a reservoir connected with thesupply-pipe of said system, and a radiating-circuit having its supplyand return pipes connected with said reservoir, a valve controlling theflow into the reservoir and radiating-pipes,anda thermostatic deviceconnected to said valve, substantially as described.

4. A car-heater consisting of the combination, with pipes forming partof a hot-watercirculating system, of a hot-water reservoir connectedwith the supply-pipe of the said system, a radiating-circuit connectedtherewith and with the return-pipe of the system,

10 ing-oircuit, said radiating circuit having its return-pipe connectedto the reservoir and to the return-pipe of the circulating system,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM L. HORNE.

Witnesses:

E. T. WALKER, M. P. OALLAN.

